1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates generally to home wireless networking and, more specifically, to a system and method for simultaneous setup of a wireless network adapter and a wireless router that implements a wireless access point.
2. Description of the Related Art
A home network is used to provide Internet connectivity and data sharing among computing devices within a home that are connected to that network. To allow computing devices to be placed remotely from one another and/or from the network router, many home networks are fully or partially wireless. As is well-understood, computing devices include desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, mobile phones, digital music/mp3 players, personal digital assistants (PDAs), printers, set-top boxes, etc. Wireless home networks typically include a wireless router that is hard wired to a modem. The modem, which is often provided by a telephone or cable company, is connected to an external network, such as the Internet, and allows information to flow between the external network and the home network. Each computing device in the home network is connected to the wireless router through a wireless network adapter that is either internal or external to the computing device. Oftentimes, when initially setting up a wireless home network, a user purchases the wireless network adapter and the wireless router at the same time. In such cases, the wireless network adapter and the wireless router have to be set up simultaneously or in parallel, which may prove difficult for the user.
One approach to setting up a wireless network adapter and a wireless router in parallel is to start by configuring the wireless router. Here, the user connects the wireless router to the modem and, in one instance, places the installation disk for the wireless router into a computer that is to be connected to the home network. As is well-known, multiple techniques for setting up the wireless router can be implemented. However, the computer needs to initiate a wireless connection with the wireless router in order to guide the wireless router through the setup configuration process. If the computer does not yet have the wireless network adapter installed, then the computer is not able to initiate the wireless connection needed to configure the wireless router. Consequently, the user is unable to complete the configuration of the wireless router.
Another approach to setting up a wireless network adapter and wireless router in parallel is to start by configuring the wireless network adapter. Here, the user couples the wireless network adapter to a computer and places the installation disk for the wireless network adapter into the computer. However, the wireless network adapter may need to connect to a wireless network, associated with a configured wireless router, in order to complete the configuration of the wireless network adapter. If the wireless router is not configured, then the computer is not able to initiate the wireless connection needed to complete the configuration of the wireless network adapter. Consequently, the user is unable to complete the configuration of the wireless network adapter.
In yet another approach, the user first connects the wireless router to the computer with a hard-wired connection to configure the wireless router, thereby creating a wireless home network. Then, the user disconnects the wireless router from the computer, couples the wireless network adapter with the computer, and places the installation disk for the wireless network adapter into the computer. The installation process for the wireless router is then able to run to completion by connecting the wireless network adapter to the recently-created wireless home network. However, this last approach is inconvenient for the user and possible only if the wireless router is positioned near the computer and the user has a cable that can be used to implement the hard-wired connection available.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is a more efficient and user-friendly approach for in parallel setting up a wireless network adapter and a wireless router in a wireless home network.